Welcome to another Monday.

A recent report by University of the West England researchers Lauren Devine and Stephen Parker reveals a startling statistic – despite the fact that referrals to children’s social care have increased by more than 300% since the introduction of the Children Act 1989, there has been no increase in the detection of child abuse.

The report goes on to warn about the adverse effects of these kinds of assessments on families and children and that little support exists for family units going through these processes. They are, many would argue including ourselves, very stressful, not particularly sophisticated methods of inquiry. Others take the view that they are the lesser of two evils and necessary to protect children from harm.

Our question to you then, is just this: do you think child protection assessment services are fine as they are, or if not, what should we be doing to make these investigations better and more comfortable for families and children?